APHG Unit 4

I. Political Geography Basics

• State: A political entity with defined borders, a permanent population, government, and sovereignty (e.g., France).

• Nation: A group of people with shared culture, history, language, etc. (e.g., Japanese).

• Nation-state: A state where nearly everyone shares the same culture (e.g., Iceland).

• Stateless nation: A nation without a sovereign state (e.g., Palestinians, Kurds).

• Multinational state: A state with multiple nations (e.g., Canada, Russia).

• Multistate nation: A nation that exists across multiple states (e.g., Koreans in North & South Korea).

• Sovereignty: The authority of a state to govern itself.

• Self-determination: The right of people to choose their own government.

II. Types of Political Units

• Autonomous region: A region with a degree of self-rule (e.g., Hong Kong).

• Semi-autonomous region: Region with limited self-governance (e.g., Native American reservations).

• Colony: A territory controlled by another country.

III. Boundaries

• Boundary: A line that marks the limits of an area; a border.

• Defined boundary: Established by a legal document.

• Delimited boundary: Drawn on a map.

• Demarcated boundary: Marked by physical objects (e.g., walls, fences).

• Natural boundary: Based on physical features (e.g., mountains, rivers).

• Geometric boundary: Follows straight lines (e.g., US–Canada border).

• Cultural boundary: Based on language, religion, or ethnicity.

Boundary Disputes

• Definitional: Disagreement over the wording of a boundary agreement.

• Locational: Disagreement on the actual location.

• Operational: Dispute on how a boundary functions.

• Allocational: Dispute over resources (e.g., oil fields).

IV. Shapes of States

• Compact state: Efficient, centered shape (e.g., Poland).

• Elongated state: Long and narrow (e.g., Chile).

• Prorupted state: Compact with a protruding extension (e.g., Democratic Republic of Congo).

• Perforated state: A state that completely surrounds another (e.g., South Africa surrounding Lesotho).

• Fragmented state: Scattered pieces (e.g., Indonesia).

• Landlocked state: No direct access to the ocean (e.g., Bolivia).

V. Political Theories & Concepts

• Heartland Theory (Mackinder): Control Eastern Europe, control the world.

• Rimland Theory (Spykman): Power lies in the coastal areas.

• Organic Theory: States grow and need territory to survive (used to justify imperialism).

• Shatterbelt: Region caught between stronger conflicting forces (e.g., Eastern Europe during the Cold War).

• Choke point: A strategic, narrow waterway (e.g., Strait of Malacca).

VI. Internal Political Organization

• Unitary state: Centralized government (e.g., France).

• Federal state: Power shared between national and regional governments (e.g., USA).

• Devolution: Transfer of power from central to regional governments (e.g., Scotland).

• Balkanization: Breaking up of a state due to conflicts (e.g., Yugoslavia).

• Centripetal force: Unifies people (e.g., shared language).

• Centrifugal force: Divides people (e.g., religious conflict).

VII. Supranationalism & Global Politics

• Supranational organization: 3+ countries form an alliance (e.g., EU, UN, NATO, ASEAN, AU).

• Economies of scale: Benefits from working together (e.g., shared markets in the EU).

• Trade agreements: Agreements between countries to reduce trade barriers (e.g., NAFTA/USMCA).

• Military alliances: Countries agree to defend each other (e.g., NATO).

• Supranationalism: Political/economic cooperation among states for mutual benefit.

VIII. Electoral Geography

• Redistricting: Redrawing electoral district boundaries based on population.

• Gerrymandering: Drawing boundaries to favor a political party.

• Reapportionment: Redistributing seats in the House of Representatives based on census data.

• Majority-minority districts: Districts where a majority of the population is from a minority group.

IX. Colonialism and Its Legacy

• Colonialism: One country establishing settlements and control over another.

• Imperialism: Political or economic dominance over territories.

• Neocolonialism: Continued economic dependence on former colonial powers.

• Dependency theory: Poor countries depend on rich countries, rooted in colonialism.